The Battle with Riverclan at the Gorge
by JessicaKan
Summary: This is an alternate ending to the battle with Riverclan at the gorge in book two Fire and Ice. Instead of Whiteclaw's death a different cat is killed. Maybe even more than one. Read it to find out who.
1. The Battle and Death

Disclaimer:I do not own Warriors or anything mentioned here.

Warriors: The Battle with Riverclan at the Gorge- Alternate Ending

Sandpaw was on a patrol with Tigerclaw, Whitestorm, and Willowpelt. Suddenly her ears pricked at the sound of a battle cry. "Did you hear that?", she asked.

"It came from the Riverclan border," said Tigerclaw. "Lets go and see what's happening."

As they approached, Sandpaw smelled the scent of Graystripe, Fireheart, Windclan, and Riverclan. She wondered what was happening. When they got to the gorge, Sandpaw saw two Windclan cats and Fireheart and Graystripe locked in battle with a Riverclan patrol. Tigerclaw let out a battle cry and they leaped into battle. Sandpaw immediately leaped onto the back of a Riverclan she-cat. The she-cat was no match for her. As they wriggled and rolled Sandpaw picked up the scent of salt water approaching. She didn't care as long as this she-cat ran off yowling. All of a sudden she saw a flash of a flame colored pelt. Suddenly the weight of the she-cat was lifted. She felt a sharp pull as Fireheart pulled her away. She let out a yowl of protest. As he released her and headed back towards the battle, she heard an ear-splitting yowl.

"Fireheart! Look out!", screamed Graystripe as the she-cat that Sandpaw had been wrestling with dived at Fireheart.

"Fireheart!", she shouted as she realized what was happening. But it was too late. She watched in horror as the she-cat rammed into Fireheart's side.

"NOOOO!", she and Graystripe yowled. She saw Fireheart scrabble at the edge of the gorge. She ran towards him but was bowled over by a dark brown tom. She watched as Fireheart fell over the edge and she cried out in terror. She heaved the tom off of her and ran towards the edge of the gorge. She saw Fireheart struggle to keep his head above the water, but the current was too strong. He was swept down stream and his head disappeared under the water. Only then did Sandpaw realize that the sound of battle had stopped. As she turned around she saw the expressions of grief on the Thunderclan cat's faces. All except Tigerclaw. He showed no grief and seemed pleased of the death of Fireheart. Sandpaw then realized exactly what had happened. The reason Fireheart had fallen to his death was because he had stopped fighting to save her from falling over the edge. She let out a grief stricken yowl. She didn't know why she cared that he had fallen. He was just a kittypet. She would always make insults about him with Dustpaw.

" It's all over. Let's go back and report to Bluestar. She should know what happened," said Tigerclaw. His calm voice made Sandpaw's pelt prickle with anger.

"How could you act so calm when Fireheart just fell to his death!", she shouted with anger. She was ready to spring at him.

"Fireheart should have known better than to go through Riverclan territory. His death was his own fault.", said Tigerclaw in a calm voice.

Something snapped inside of Sandpaw. She unsheathed her claws and leaped at Tigerclaw. She clawed at his fur and bit down on his neck fur. She didn't care that Tigerclaw would beat her in an instant. All she cared about was to claw the fur off of Tigerclaw. He used his hind legs to get her off and leaped onto her back.

"You don't care that Fireheart fell! All you care about is that we won the battle!" Sandpaw yowled as she tore at his fur. She pushed her hind legs with all her strength and watched as Tigerclaw flew over the edge of the gorge. She yowled in triumph. As Graystripe looked at her with horror and disbelief. She couldn't believe it herself. As she walked back to camp her eyes were still wide with the horror of what he had done. Bluestar was outside of her den sharing tongues with Runningwind. When she saw them return, she rose to her paws.

" Welcome back Graystripe!", she said. " I see you ran into one of the patrols. Where are Tigerclaw and Fireheart?", she asked with a curious look in her eyes.

"The patrol ran into Graystripe, Fireheart, and two Windclan cats fighting Riverclan near the gorge. Fireheart and Tigerclaw both fell over the edge." said Whitestorm in a calm voice. " I can tell you the whole story in your den."

Sandpaw just walked to the apprentice's den with her head down and her tail dragging in the dust. As she neared the apprentice's den ran into Dustpaw. " I heard the kittypet fell off the gorge. I knew he wouldn't last more than a few moons." he said with a sneer on his face.

" Be quit mousebrain! Fireheart died saving me!" she yowled and ran away. Graystripe was just walking towards the fresh-kill pile when he saw her.

"You should go see Yellowfang. You don't look too good. What you saw would have frightened the fur off of a normal apprentice.", he suggested. Normally Sandpaw would have replied with a rude remark, but right now she couldn't have said a thing if she wanted. She walked towards Yellowfang's den. When Yellowfang saw her, a look of worry crossed her face.

"You look as if you just saw a badger in the nursery!" said Yellowfang. "Come inside and I'll give you something for shock while you tell me what happened."

After she had eaten the herbs she told the whole story to Yellowfang. "…. so I pushed with all of my strength and he fell over the edge.", she finished with a wail of grief. "Why did I do it. Fireheart wasn't my friend, he didn't even like me. I can't help feeling responsible for his death. Why do you think I killed Tigerclaw?" she asked the wise old cat.

"Everything can be explained with one question. Did you love him?", Yellowfang asked.

Sandpaw came to a shocking realization. She had fallen in love with Fireheart.


	2. Remembering

Battle with Riverclan at the Gorge- Chapter 2/Remembering

It has been nearly a moon since the battle at the gorge where Fireheart and Tigerclaw had both been killed. Sandpaw tried to forget what had happened, but she couldn't forget the sight of Fireheart's head disappearing under the water. She went about her duties normally, but she would try to stay away from the Riverclan border. It brought back too many painful memories.

" Sandpaw!" Sandpaw heard her mentor Whitestorm call to her. "I just talked to Bluestar and she says your ready for your warrior name! The ceremony will be at moonhigh!"

Sandpaw knew that she should be happy about getting her warrior name, it was every apprentice's dream, but nothing seemed to matter anymore.

"Sandpaw? Are you okay?" Whitestorm asked with a worried expression on his face. "You haven't been the same since Fir-the accident." Sandpaw knew he had been about to say Fireheart's death but had stopped because he knew how much it hurt her.

"I'm fine. I'm going to go tell Dustpaw the good news." she said as tried to muster up a smile.

" Okay. If you say so. Could you tell him that he will have his warrior ceremony at moonhigh too." Whitestorm added, the look of worry still on his face.

Sandpaw walked off to find Dustpaw. He had been her best friend, but ever since the battle they had grown farther and farther apart.

" Hey Sandpaw!" Dustpaw said as he emerged from the apprentice den. " Do you want to go hunting together?" he asked with a hopeful expression on his face. Sandpaw knew that he was trying to repair their friendship, but she just couldn't forget the way he had sneered and made fun of Fireheart all the time.

"No thanks. I think I'll go take a nap before the ceremony." she answered. Dustpaw's expression changed to disappointment and then confusion.

"What ceremony?" he asked.

"I forgot to tell you. Bluestar said we could get our warrior names tonight at moonhigh." Sandpaw said with not even a glint of excitement in her eyes.

Dustpaw's reaction was the exact opposite. "We're both getting our warrior names! We've been waiting forever for this. Finally! We can be warriors! Even Graystripe and that kittypet got their warrior names before us!" Dustpaw froze as he realized what he had just said.

"How could you say that! Graystripe is a great and loyal warrior and so was Fireheart!" Sandpaw said as her pelt bristled.

"How could you defend him! It's been nearly a moon and you still won't forget what happened! You two hated each other and now your acting as if he was your best friend!" Dustpaw said angrily before stalking off through the gorse tunnel.

Normally, Sandpaw would have followed after him and apologized, but instead she walked towards the fresh-kill pile. She was about to pick up a vole when she overheard Mousefur reporting back to Bluestar.

"We just spotted a kittypet on our territory near twoleg place. This is the second time he's been here!" she heard Mousefur say as her pelt bristled.

" Perhaps you don't remember the last time this happened." Bluestar responded with a calm expression on her face. Sandpaw knew exactly what she meant by 'last time'. The last time a kittypet had been spotted on Thunderclan territory, he ended up joining the clan. That kittypet had been Fireheart.

Sandpaw didn't know what came over her. She quickly ran towards the gorse tunnel and to twoleg place. She found the kittypet's scent near the treecut place.

As she followed the scent trail she found where the kittypet had gone. She froze in pain and shock when she saw the kittypet. It was a tom-cat with a flaming ginger pelt. He looked so much like Fireheart that Sandpaw thought that Fireheart had somehow miraculously come back to life. But as she looked more closely she realized that he didn't have the same piercing green eyes that she loved. They were a deep amber.

"You do know I can see you watching me." the kittypet said. Sandpaw recoiled in surprise.

"Hi! I'm Sandpaw." she introduced herself. "It's just that you remind me of someone" she said with pain in her eyes.

"Really? Maybe it's one of my siblings. What does he look like?" the kittypet asked with an interested expression. "I'm Spike by the way."

" Well, hehad a flaming orange pelt and piercing green eyes" Sandpaw answered with a small smile as she remembered him.

"Had? I think that might have been my brother Rusty, but he's a housecat." he said with a look of relief. "I haven't seen him a long time, though."

When he saw the look of grief that crossed Sandpaw's face, his expression turned to panic. " No! It can't be Rusty. I'll take you to his housefolk. I'm sure that he'll be there."

Sandpaw followed Spike as he headed towards a large group of twoleg nests. All of a sudden, a black and white tom jumped onto his fence and said, " Hey Rusty! I mean Firepaw. Are you coming back to your housefolk." Then he noticed Sandpaw walking behind Spike.

"Who's she? Is she one of your friends from the forest? Does she want housefolk too?" he asked.

"What do you mean am I back from the forest? I'm Rusty's brother, Spike." Spike asked with fear in his eyes.

"Oh! I'm sorry. Rusty went to go join the forest cats a little while ago. Where is he? I used to be his best friend. My name's Smudge." he said.

" I guess your right." Spike said to Sandpaw. "Rusty is gone for good!" he said with a wail of grief.

"What do you mean gone for good?" Smudge said with a look of worry crossing his face.

"_Fireheart _was killed in battle." Sandpaw answered as she relived the battle in her head.

" I told him not too leave his housefolk! I told him it was dangerous! I knew this would happen!" Smudge said with a look of pain.

" I think it's time to go Spike." Sandpaw said.

"Alright. Thank you Smudge." he said.

As they walked back to Spike's twoleg nest Sandpaw said, " It's amazing how much you look like Fireheart." A crazy idea went through her mind. "Do you want to come back to the clan with me? I'm sure Bluestar would welcome Fireheart's brother."

"I would love to stay with Rusty's friends, but I am a housecat. I could never leave my housefolk. I may look like Rusty, but I could never leave my home like he did. I'm sorry, but I have to go. I need to tell me and Rusty's sister, Princess, what happened. Good-bye and thank you." he said before he walked towards another twoleg nest.

Sandpaw felt like she had lost Fireheart all over again. She knew that Spike joining the clan wouldn't bring Fireheart back, but he was so much like him. Sandpaw's heart ached with loss.

"Sandpaw! Where have you been?" she heard Whitestorm call. She had forgotten that the dawn patrol would be out about now.

" I just left to go hunting." she answered. She knew that Whitestorm would never understand where she had been.

"But I haven't seen you since sunhigh, and you smell like a kittypet. Have you been eating kittypet food?" Whitestorm asked with a questioning glance.

"I would never eat kittypet slop!" Sandpaw said with disbelief. How could her mentor think that she would eat kittypet food?

"Well, you have to get back to camp. It's almost time for your warrior ceremony." he said with a flash of pride.

Sandpaw had completely forgotten about her warrior ceremony. " Okay." she said before she walked home. Thoughts buzzed through her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Fireheart.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

After her warrior vigil, Sandstorm walked towards the warrior's den to find her nest. She looked around for a nest that wasn't being used. She then smelled a faint smell coming from a rumpled nest that looked like it hadn't been used for a moon. When she stuck her muzzle into the moss, she detected the faint smell of Fireheart. She curled up in the nest and went to sleep.

That night, Sandstorm dreamed of Fireheart. She dreamed of the day when he first arrived, and then the day she last saw him. She also dreamed of what could have happened. She dreamed that she was lying in the Thunderclan nursery with two kits curled up next to her. One of them had a flame colored pelt, just like Fireheart.

When Sandstorm woke up, it nearly dawn. She decided to go hunting. As she was walking, she found herself nearing the Riverclan border. When she reached the border, she sat down and stared at the gorge as she remembered the day that Fireheart died.


	3. The Lost One

**A/N: I Know it's been forever since I updated this, but to anyone actually still reading this, I finally got some inspiration! If I slack off on updating this again, please feel free to PM me until I finally do update. I hope you enjoy it. **

Sandstorm stared down at the gorge. Several moons had passed since Fireheart had fallen to his death, yet Sandstorm still could not forget it. She now comes to the gorge every sun high, occasionally visiting Spike on her way there. It should be a place of great sadness to her, but it seems to be the only place where she can truly remember Fireheart. His bedding was cleared away a few moons ago, the scent already completely gone. Sandstorm's clanmates had kept it there, so that she could have something to remember Fireheart by, but they were quickly growing irritated with her. Sandstorm had become a warrior several moons ago, yet the pain kept her from hunting or battling correctly. At first, her clanmates had tolerated this, hoping that she would eventually return to normal, but Sandstorm was stuck in endless unhappiness.

Sandstorm continued to sit, just staring down into the gorge and replaying that same scene over and over again. Fireheart being pushed, the splash that was heard when he fell, and the elatedness and shock that she had felt as she saw Tigerclaw follow Fireheart. No matter how much pain this memory caused it her, it was the last memory she had of Fireheart. It was also accompanied by the memory of Fireheart sacrificing his own life to save hers.

Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes shook Sandstorm from her thoughts. She rose to her paws and called out "Who's there?" When she received no answer, she hissed as the fur on her back began to rise.

"Come out now! Or I'll claw your fur off!" She yelled towards the bushes. A few seconds later a small yet muscular tom cat emerged from the bushes.

"I mean you no harm." He calmly stated. "I come following a scent." He slowly padded up to Sandstorm and took in her scent. "You bear the same scent as The Lost One."

Sandstorm's back arched and she hissed out "Who are you?"

The strange tom chuckled and sat down. "I am Wing of Fallen Eagle, but others call me Wing. I come from the Tribe of Falling Leaves. I mean you and your tribe no harm. I am simply here because a young tom washed up on our shores several moons ago, and I have been sent to find his home. I have been searching for a scent that matches his for many moons."

Sandstorm's fur started to flatten. Her mind was buzzing with though. Who could this "Lost One" be? Could it be Fireheart? Is it possible that he's alive after all? She wasn't sure if she could trust this cat, but Sandstorm would do anything to bring back the cat that she had fallen in love with. "I'll take you to see Bluestar." she said, before slowly padding off towards camp, looking back occasionally to make sure that Wing was still following her.


	4. Bluestar's Decision

**A/N: Howdy, it's me again. XD Thank you all for telling me to keep going on this fic, I really appreciate the reviews! **

As Sandstorm padded into camp, the other members of her clan were just starting to emerge from their dens. As the scent of the strange cat slowly following Sandstorm, the clan began whispering to each other. Most of the whispers consisted of jokes that Sandstorm had finally lost her mind completely.

Sandstorm just kept on walking towards Bluestar's den. She has grown used to the quite whispers that could be faintly heard every time she passed by another cat.

When they arrived at Bluestar's den, Sandstorm stopped and waited for the familiar call to enter.

"Enter!" called Blustar. Sandstorm quietly padded into her den, motioning for Wing to follow. Bluestar was calmly sharing tongues with Whitestorm, the clan's new deputy. When he saw them walk in, he left Bluestar to tend to them alone.

As she saw them approach, Bluestar lifted her head questionably towards Wing and asked "Who is this?"

Sandstorm opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Wing. "I am Wing of Fallen Eagle. I come from the Tribe of Fallen Leaves. Many moons ago, a young tomcat washed up on the shores of out river. I was sent out to find a scent that matched the tom's. I have been following the river upstream for the past few moons, until I came across a very strong scent that seemed identical to the Lost One's. It smelled as if the same cat had been coming to that spot every day for several moons, so I waited until this cat would show up again."

Bluestar was nodding her head through Wing's entire explanation, slowly taking in all of the details. "And who is this Lost One?"

"I do not know his name. He had still not woken up by the time out Healer sent me to track his scent. Therefore, I continue to call him the Lost One," Wing explained.

Bluestar nodded her again. She hoped that this was Fireheart, but the chance that it was was very slim. "And what does he look like?"

"He has fur the color of flames that seem to light up when hit by sun. That is all I can tell you, other than that he had scars on his pelt, which appear to have come from other cats." Wing said somewhat curiously. Sandstorm wondered why he wouldn't understand that. Truly he must've fought other tribes, as he had called them, before. As she looked closer at him, Sandstorm realized that his pelt was mostly devoid of scars. He had one small one on his hind leg, but it appeared to be from something much larger than another cat. Sandstorm was slightly shocked by this, but managed to turn her attention back to the conversation currently going on between Wing and Bluestar.

Bluestar was quietly considering what Wing had just said. It could be Fireheart, but what if it isn't? She could not risk the lives of her warriors to pick up what might be just another lost kittypet. But how did it get their scent? Maybe it was a rogue that had been staying in Thunderclan territory. Either way, the risks were too great. "I am sorry Wing, but I can not risk the lives of my warriors. I appreciate you tracking his scent back to us, and you are welcome to stay the night, but you must leave and go back to your tribe after sunrise."

Wing bowed his head to Bluestar and said "Very well. I will leave at sunrise."

Sandstorm gaped at Bluestar. How could she give up the one opportunity they might have to bring Fireheart back? She knew that Bluestar cared greatly for the young warrior that had once been her apprentice, so why wouldn't she send a small patrol?

Just as Wing was exiting the den, Sandstorm said "I can lead a patrol to the tribe!"

Bluestar seemed to think about this for a moment before saying "You are not fit to lead a patrol Sandstorm. You were just made a warrior a few moons ago, and you have been slacking on your duties since Fireheart's death."

Sandstorm opened her mouth to add that he might still be alive, but was quickly cut off by Bluestar adding "And I will continue to think of him as dead until proven otherwise. There is only a very small chance that this Lost One may be Fireheart, and I don't need my warriors dieing in vain."

Sandstorm's angered bubbled inside her and her fur began to rise. "I am perfectly capable of leading a patrol! I could even bring back Fireheart! I'm going to find him, no matter what you say!"

Bluestar sat calmly all throughout Sandstorm's outburst. As Sandstorm finally began to calm down, she bowed her in shame at yelling at her clan leader. "I am sorry Bluestar. But I must go! This could be our only chance to bring Fireheart back!"

Bluestar just stared at Sandstorm for a minute. She recognized that fiery stubbornness that was in her eyes. She knew that no matter what she said, Sandstorm would follow Wing to his tribe. After a few more seconds of thought, she decided what to do. "Alright Sandstorm. You have my permission to go with Wing to his tribe. But you are not to take any other warriors with you. Tomorrow you will both go see Yellowfang for traveling herbs. Then you will leave at sunrise. If you are not back within several moons, I will assume you are dead. Are my instructions clear, Sandstorm?"

A sudden feeling of hope erupted in Sandstorm's stomach and spread throughout her. She would finally get to bring Fireheart back! With a new light in her eyes, she answered Bluestar "Yes. Thank you Bluestar!"

Bluestar simply responded with "Now go get some fresh kill. You two have a long journey tomorrow."

Sandstorm padded out Bluestar's den with Wing at her side. She showed him the fresh kill pile and they ate together in silence. She then put some moss on one of the empty spots in the warriors den, and they slept through the rest of the day, for they had to rise early the next day.

**A/N: What do you think? I though it was a bit OOC. :P Sorry again for the late update, and the last chapter being so short. What can I say, I'm a lazy person that's not cut out for multi-chapter fics. In my defense, this started as a one-shot. XD Anyway, enough rambling. Please review. I really love to hear your thoughts! **


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